Will I still be able to buy a gun?

This is a discussion on Will I still be able to buy a gun? within the Concealed Carry Issues & Discussions forums, part of the Defensive Carry Discussions category; As some of you here know from my recent thread here,I was arrested and charged with two felonies recently. The state decided not to file ...

Will I still be able to buy a gun?

As some of you here know from my recent thread here,I was arrested and charged with two felonies recently. The state decided not to file charges against me but I still have an arrest record for this incident.

My question is I'm in Florida and our background checks for gun purchases are done by FDLE,will they get a copy of the court documents stating no charges were filed against me? Or do I have to have my attorney send them to them? What would happen right now if I tried to buy a gun,would I be denied or conditionally approved?

I'm curious because my twin brother had to wait 20 minutes for his background check to be approved the other day when he bought a handgun.,he usually gets an instants approval. I know I probably won't get an instant approval like before but can I be denied a gun purchase being I wasn't convicted of anything and am not prohibited from from owning a gun?

I don’t know about your State. Here, if someone is arrested and charged for any class of a felony, it will be posted to the criminal history for life. If the charge(s) were dropped or reduced to a misdemeanor, and it doesn’t involve a domestic violence, the citizen should/may still be able to receive a permit.

You should know, the local municipal courts may not automatically advise the State criminal record folks about the end result conviction. I recommend you contact the proponent agency that maintains the records and request a criminal history report. If it hasn’t been appended, then challenge it for accuracy. Once the record folks validate the conviction, things may go through. Of course, this is contingent on a ‘shall issue’ State and any other wildcards. None of this should require an attorney.

In fact, at some point, one may also request a misdemeanor be vacated or set aside, depending on the policies of the State. This simply makes the citizen look good on paper and the conviction cannot be used against you in the future. Keep in mind, following passage of the patriot act, nothing ever really goes away, it's just reclassified.

Go ahead and try to purchase a gun. If you are denied based on the background check, you have a heck of a civil liberties lawsuit against the Feds. Ask the ACLU to represent you, they usually do it for free, and it would be pretty ironic.

As some of you here know from my recent thread here,I was arrested and charged with two felonies recently. The state decided not to file charges against me but I still have an arrest record for this incident.

Claims of something are not "proven" guilt of something. That's why the law generally requires conviction before any such consideration is made for such things.

I can't speak for the statutes in your state, but it seems ludicrous that it would get in the way.

When I was 16 I was charged with a felony for something that wasn't a felony, but was enhanced because I was with 2 friends. They dropped that charge and reduced the rest. When I went to buy a gun I was denied. I had to go to the BCI, to find out why, and the man there said that it was because i was convicted of a felony. I explained to him what had actually happened. He wouldnt even check to see if i was telling the truth, even though that was his job. After a very frustrating few days, I was able to appeal again. Turns out they hadn't looked through the entire file to see if i had been convicted or not. They saw the arrest and assumed I was convicted.

Long story short....... be patient, if the government can screw something up, they probably will.

I plan on having my record expunged as soon as possible. I was told by my attorneys that florida"s expungement statute is unique in the sense that they actually physically destroy all records pertaining to my arrest/case.

I was also advised to get several certified copies of the case disposition,as once the expungment goes through they will also be destroyed. So I would think it won't be an issue in a background check.

In Virginia, if one is under indictment for felony charges and awaiting trial (or if the case is under post-trial advisement for a specified period of time in which community service and no further trouble would result in dismissal) then that would be exclusionary for purchase. In that case, if one already had a CC permit and firearm, it would not be unlawful to CC appropriately until or unless convicted. I have a friend in this situation right now and this is the advice he received from his lawyer regarding his CC permit and purchases. In Virginia, any alcohol related conviction (such as public drunkeness) results in the loss (or denial of application) of your CC permit for 5 years. Virginia law states it is illegal (a misdemeanor) to carry a firearm under the influence of alcohol (no definition of under the influence) but any alcohol related crime serves as prima facia evidence of this misdemeanor. Anything else is open to interpretation.

Go ahead and try to purchase a gun. If you are denied based on the background check, you have a heck of a civil liberties lawsuit against the Feds. Ask the ACLU to represent you, they usually do it for free, and it would be pretty ironic.

This would be the Proverbial Icing on the cake!!!^^^^^^^^

Originally Posted by ccw9mm

Claims of something are not "proven" guilt of something. That's why the law generally requires conviction before any such consideration is made for such things.

I can't speak for the statutes in your state, but it seems ludicrous that it would get in the way.

What does your attorney say?

I Would think this holds true anywhere^^^^^^^^

Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy." -- Ernest Benn

I would rather die with good men than hide with cowardsIf you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.
Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy."

I don't know if you have Jon Gutmacher's book, Florida Firearms - Law, Use & Ownership, but if you don't, you need to get it. I picked mine up at a gun show for $27 and if you own or carry a weapon, you should read it.

The thing is, being that it's a misdemeanor, the officer's shouldn't have arrested you since they didn't witness the incident. They should have investigated the incident and if their conclusion was that the law was broken, they should have gotten a warrant for your arrest.

I'd actually say you were lucky (so far). It would seem you did break the law with the only questionable part being whether anyone felt threatened or not by the weapon. Since that decision falls on the parties present, I'd be willing to bet that both the father and son would say they felt threatened. You're just lucky the arresting officers didn't follow proper procedure. What's more, it doesn't matter this happened in your home.

I haven't found in the book yet, but there's a problem with the stepson residing in the home. I want to say that because he lives there, he can still invite the father over. Not sure.

One last thing, I'm not a lawyer or anything of the sort, just a reader, and as such please take my information as being incorrect\wrong. Please consult your attorney for guidance and clarification.